TransCanada hearing to begin at 10 a.m. today

January 15, 2008|From staff reports

A hearing in a civil case involving a company that wants to build a crude oil pipeline through South Dakota is set for today in Britton. TransCanada plans to build the 2,148-mile Keystone Pipeline from Hardisty, Alberta, to U.S. refineries in Illinois and Oklahoma. Because TransCanada and some landowners in Marshall County have not been able to agree on easements allowing the company to run the pipeline beneath their land, TransCanada is seeking to take that land by eminent domain. There are about 20 such cases. Tuesday's hearing is a called a motion to dismiss. It was sought by the landowners who are asking that the cases be dismissed because they don't believe TransCanada has the right to eminent domain, which would allow the company access to land in return for payment. It's scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at the Marshall County Courthouse.